(A/N: I wrote this with my sister keljae over e-mail, so this is both of our works. The first paragraph was mine, and after every "-" it switches. I'll also be putting keljae's paragraphs in bold print while mine will be in normal print to aid with the transition. keljae has this on under the username SAOSwordArtOnline as well, if any of you would rather read it there.
The Pastas included in this roleplay are: Slenderman, Jeff the Killer, , Eyeless Jack, Bloody Mary, Pacemaker, Nightstalker, The Rake, Larry (the Larry that gives people paper-cuts), and Zalgo.
Kay, bye bye~)
The young, auburn-headed girl led the charge as 13 idols bolted down the pathway. Her heart thundered in her chest and her ribbons were obstructing her sight, but she doubted that the angry and vicious dogs chasing them down would care about that.
She felt a rough hand grasp her own and felt herself pulled along by one of the more athletic idols. If she tripped now, it would be all over. The dogs barked furiously just at her heels. She saw a messy head of dark grey hair up ahead and spotted the brown-bobbed head in her friend's arms. She thought about how terrified the brunette must have been; she was afraid of dogs in the first place.
"In there!" a voice from slightly ahead shouted. The ribbon-wearing girl spotted a huge mansion not far away. It looked pleasant, and the white picket fence would keep the dogs away. She used the last of her strength to hurtle into the green grass, waiting for everyone else before slamming the gate shut.
"Let's go inside and rest," someone panted. Auburn Hair didn't argue.
The tired idols dragged themselves to the door, leaving the dogs barking at the fence.
"Haruka, you knock," the blonde of the group ordered, jabbing Auburn Hair with a finger. The other girl smiled and nodded, pounding on the door with her hand. To her surprise, it swung open easily. Confused, Haruka again took the lead as the idols stepped inside, one by one.
The door slammed shut behind them and stayed that way. A couple of idols screamed. Haruka tugged at the door, but despite the clumsy girl's best efforts, it wouldn't budge. She gulped.
"...Hello?"
An eerie presence filled the room. Unidentified footsteps bellowed across the hall ahead, but it was too dark for the idols to see anything.
A ginger-haired girl drew in a sharp breath and huddled next to her reddish-brown haired friend, who wrapped a protective arm around her despite the shuddering in fear. The footsteps grew louder until they sounded as though directly in front of the girls, then died down slowly.
A mature brunette grasped the door handle, breathing heavily.
"Is someone in here?" The blonde squeaked nonchalantly. A black haired ponytail-headed idol shushed her harshly. A dimly lit candle sat ahead, illuminating a small corner of the giant mansion. Faint sounds of a sharpening knife sounded from the same room.
"Hush, little baby, don't you cry..." The low rumble of a voice sent shivers up and down the girl's spines. A certain mysterious silver-haired idol stepped forward, eyes glazed over, skin especially pale, head slowly lolling side to side. Her feet forcibly were drawn forward in hypnosis.
"Takane, no!" the black haired girl whispered. She darted after her and tried to draw her back.
"Don't forget to say good-bye..." the eerie song finished quietly. A serious idol with dull blue hair huffed and confidently followed Takane, followed one by one until all girls were drawn to the tune. "Hush, little darling, don't you cry..." The song continued softly. "Won't be long before you die."
Takane stepped past the border and saw the most repulsive face her eyes had witnessed; a bright red smile stretched across its face, blood dripping from the corners as if it were carved in with a knife. Tiny black pupils with wide, perfectly circular eyes outlined sulfur black, as if the eyelids were burned out. Hair long, singed black and flying out in all directions. It wore a blood-stained white sweatshirt and blood-stained black dress pants.
In its hand was a kitchen knife being sharpened with what looked like a fresh bone.
Haruka screamed, running to hide behind her athletic black-haired friend, who in turn, shook violently. The brunette that was still being carried appeared to have passed put in her friend's arms.
What...is that? Haruka wondered, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"Who are you?" called the grey-haired girl. Her arms were stiff and her legs shook, but she had on a brave expression.
"Maybe we should introduce ourselves," the blond piped. "Hi, nano~! Miki's name is Miki."
Haruka took a deep breath and closed her eyes to hide the sight of the hideous being in front of her. "A-Amami Haruka," she called.
"Name's Ganaha Hibiki," said the black-ponytail girl.
"...Kikuchi Makoto," the grey-haired girl announced. "This is Hagiwara Yukiho, and if you come near her I'll kick you." She looked down at the brunette in her arms.
One by one, the idols introduced themselves to the disturbing monster. The silver-haired idol was Takane, the ginger, Yayoi, her best friend Iori, the twins Ami and Mami, the serious blunette, Chihaya, the busty woman known as Azusa, and her producer, the genius Ritsuko. Then the idols fell silent, waiting for the thing to respond.
The being's head creaked toward them, carved smile widening past the cheekbones. "Just go to sleep...you'll be fine in the morning," it hissed in a male voice. Iori and Yayoi squealed in fear. The boy stood up from sitting on a molded table, showing that he was once young and a body built well. His darkened tongue lapped up the blood running from his cheeks and then receded.
"You're all so ugly. Let me make you beautiful," he ordered darkly, gripping the knife and stumbling forward. "I don't want ugly people in my beautiful world...see my beautiful face? Wouldn't it be splendid if everyone was as beautiful as me?" He chuckled darkly, such a disturbing laugh. "Yes, I think you should all look like me...Nightstalker would have more fun with you if your face was that pretty."
"Who are you?!" Ritsuko lurched forward with her fists balled.
"Me?" The young boy confirmed. "I'm Jeffrey. Please, call me Jeff. And one more thing...if any one of you speaks of Liu, I'll beautify you, hand you off to Jack, and then leave you for Slendy and Nightstalker. I'll be sure to tell Smile to haunt you in your dreams also...every night..." He laughed again.
"Who's Liu?" Miki quipped.
"Miki-chan, HUSH!" Haruka hissed, but her warning came too late. Miki had started babbling.
"Was Liu your girlfriend? Or is it a boy? Your friend? Is he cute, nano~?" The other idols whimpered and stepped back, terrified. Miki continued to babble. Hibiki let out a loud cry, but the chattering blonde ignored her.
"Liu is my brother, you blonde b*tch!" Jeff's eyes twitched and he screeched, bounding toward Miki with inhuman speed.
He grabbed her neck, choking her while violently tearing her lips off with his knife. He lodged the knife directly under her nose and tore it down, slicing straight down her chin. Miki's eyes bulged and she screamed horrifyingly, squirming and crying as he cut into her. Most idols yelped and hid their eyes, some began to cry, some too scared to even look away.
"You'll finally be pretty when I'm done with you," Jeff yelled. He laughed loudly as a permanent smile was carved into Miki's cheeks.
He moved to her eyes, stabbing into them and ripping off all the skin, flinging it to the ground. Her eyes were now empty sockets pouring out blood and her mouth a creepy smile, gushing out pleads.
"Oh, Slendy! You're needed!" Jeff called out loudly. A static noise began to overcome the idols' brains and Miki was engulfed by black tentacles. Her howling was so loud that it drowned out any other noise. Jeff laughed and backed away, allowing the tentacles to silence her screams, and when they receded, the only thing remaining was the lifeless body of a young teenage girl, face painted with blood, eyes gouged out.
The static disappeared and there was no trace of what silenced her. Jeff was laughing airy laughs.
The others stood speechless, petrified.
"I...what..." Chihaya tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat.
"What have we just witnessed?" Takane muttered.
"OK, new law; no one mentions the...other guy," Ritsuko hissed. Hibiki, Yayoi, and Iori sobbed loudly, hiding their eyes, and the silently crying Makoto blessed her good luck that she hadn't been attacked—and that Yukiho had slept through it.
"Jeff-san...-sama," Haruka corrected herself mid-sentence, frightened. "We only wish to go home. We'll never disturb you again! P-p-please, l-let us go home...!" The other idols nodded in approval.
Jeff tilted his head. "It's not my decision. Although, I would not allow you to look so ugly leaving this place. Slendy would rather a remodeling as well." He shot a menacing glare at Ritsuko. "And you, glasses-m*lf! Dare you call him just another guy and you'll be next!"
"My apologies," Ritsuko said, dipping her head in respect.
"Whose decision is it, pray tell?" Takane inquired. "Perhaps you have a leader?"
"An' who's Slendy?" Hibiki added.
Jeff looked around the room. "'Fraid I've said too much already. Find out yourselves." He offered a salute and turned around. "I'll leave you to the others," he said, licking Miki's blood from his butcher knife. He sighed in pleasure. "So sweet," he murmured.
"Wait!" Haruka called. "...please..."
"Is it even possible to get out of here?" Iori sighed.
"Let's explore," Makoto suggested. "A mansion this big is bound to have another exit."
"True," Haruka muttered. She took a deep breath, taking the lead a third time as the group wandered the first floor. "Let's do our best!"
To the right was a room with bookshelves and a leather and velvet chair. The girls wandered in there before going into the room where they met Jeff. Hibiki was sobbing loudly and crying into Takane's shoulder, searching for comfort about her best friend dying in front of her eyes.
"We're all tired," Chihaya pointed out obviously. "Come on. We should get some sleep."
"Ya expect us to sleep here?!" Hibiki wailed. Chihaya looked away.
"We must. So we won't be too exhausted to fight our way out."
Haruka nodded slowly. "...Chihaya-chan is right," she affirmed. "Let's find a bedroom."
"I need to put Yukiho down," Makoto added. Eventually, the others agreed. They wandered upstairs until finding a bedroom. The quartet of Makoto, Ritsuko, Hibiki, and Takane agreed to watch over those who slept. They would later switch out with Azusa, the twins, and Chihaya.
Haruka found a nice, comfy spot and settled down. Yayoi lay beside her with Iori on her other side. Slowly, the resting idols drifted into sleep.
"Woof," a surprisingly demonic voice said. The idols looked around their dreamland from lying in beds. Directly in front of the beds was a dog; a Siberian Husky dyed black with blood. Its mouth was turned up at the corners and down on the bottom lip. The creepy smile and hateful, wicked eyes of the beast frightened the girls. Its nose was turned up and slender. Its face resembled that of a canine goblin with sharp human-like teeth.
"Spread the word," it barked. "Spread the word of me! Tell everyone that I exist...send the world into chaos!" The slither of its voice was terrifying. All the girls could do was watch as the horrendous demon ordered them and tortured them and showed off its hideous face.
"...ruka. Haruka!"
Haruka screamed and bolted upright. In front of her was Hibiki, wearing a concerned frown. The panting ribbon-wearer looked around, at Makoto vigorously shaking Yukiho until the pale girl shot awake.
All around, idols were screaming in their sleep, crying, turning and squirming. Those who had stayed awake were struggling to jostle the sleepers from their slumber, but some (like Chihaya, Yayoi, and Azusa) stubbornly remained in that horrendous dreamland.
Haruka regained her breath and felt a cold sweat drip from her forehead. "D-dog," she gasped out. "D-d...dog..." She barely heard the other sleepers frantically sharing the news with the ones who hadn't slept. They were comforted and soothed, then slowly sent back to sleep.
Haruka stayed awake, too frightened to sleep.
"Will you take over for me, Haruka?" Makoto whispered, so as not to disturb the others. "I'm pretty tired."
"Don't sleep," Haruka whimpered.
"I'll be fine, the boyish idol cooed. She offered Haruka a smile and crawled into the bed beside Yukiho. Haruka took a deep breath. She remained awake with the others.
"Stubborn boyish one," the demon hound barked loudly. "Dare you question my power?! Spread the word! Fear me! My legend will live on for generations!
The hound howled and roared and thrashed and gnawed. He tortured the idols in their sleep, haunting them. Terrifying them. "I am and I will live on! Spread the word!"
Haruka heard a small yelp and saw Makoto clinging desperately to Yukiho. Her face was contorted in fear even in her sleep. Haruka heard the tomboy scream loudly and mumble something and suddenly felt the urge to wake her.
"Makoto-chan, wake up!" she ordered, giving the sleeper a shove. Makoto whimpered. Haruka tried again, but like Yayoi, Chihaya, Azusa, and even Ami, Makoto stubbornly remained sleeping.
Haruka watched Iori pass her stuffed bunny, Usa-chan, down to Yayoi, who clung to it like a lifeline. The worried Iori rubbed her back gently in comfort.
Haruka turned her head to survey the remaining idols. Her eyes bulged and she let out a repulsed scream. In front of her was Takane—no, what used to be Takane. Now she was a deformed body with a leg stuck in her stomach. Her fingers were broken and bleeding, her neck was split in half, the other leg twisted around and stabbed into her arm.
Haruka screamed. "What IS that?!" she cried. Her yell roused the sleeping idols, five of which woke with a scream.
"What?!" Chihaya looked around quickly. Her eyes fell on Takane's body and she gasped. Yayoi began to wail in horror. Iori squeezed her close.
"...We should go," Hibiki suggested. "This place's dangerous."
Haruka nodded slowly. "L-l-let's go..." she whispered. Makoto lifted the once-again-fainted Yukiho into her arms. Iori and Yayoi stood, trembling. Ami and Mami were very close together. They let Ritsuko take the lead this time, Chihaya in the back, and walked out of the room.
The idols wandered upstairs and into a huge room. The only thing in the room was a large, in-ground bathtub.
Haruka looked at the rest. "Comforting bath time?"
"Oh, yes." All eleven remaining idols stripped down and stepped into the bath to relax. Haruka only realized later that she hadn't thought to lock the door or windows.
There was a static noise like the one from before coming from a corner. Chihaya's eyes began to go blurry. She screamed. "What the heck is that?!"
A whitefaced man with an enormously tall and slender body was before them, head shaking from side to side. Black tentacles spread from its back and it slowly proceeded forward without even moving its feet. Its black suit and tie grew darker as it got closer, until Chihaya had gone completely blind. Her eyes burst when it approached and she screamed again.
"Pervert, don't look at us naked!" Makoto yelped, covering herself with her arms.
"CHIHAYA-CHAN!" Haruka screeched. "What did you do with her?! Monster, give her back!"
"Haruka! You'll anger it!" Ritsuko hissed. "...A-anata-sama! Do you know how to escape?"
The monster ignored them. The tentacles spread over Chihaya and engulfed her until only her body was left. Then it was gone. Disappeared into thin air. Absolutely no proof of its existence was seen.
They all screamed into the air. "What the h*ll is this place?!" Ritsuko cursed under her breath. "This was a horrible idea!"
"I want to talk to Jeff-sa...ma again," Yayoi whimpered. "H-he was hideous but unless we spoke of his brother he was pretty nice."
"Y'know what I wanna do?" Hibiki snapped. "I wanna live, but obviously that won't happen!"
Haruka shook her head and climbed out of the tub to dry off. One by one, the whimpering other 10 followed her. When every idol was dressed, they wandered around some more until they reached the piano room.
The piano was playing a beautiful but somewhat horrid melody. Haruka peeked in slowly and saw the back of what looked like a normal person with dark skin and a black hoodie. Hibiki smiled and bobbed her head to the music. The idols listened until the song ended with a grand chord.
Yayoi and Hibiki applauded. "That was beautiful!" Yayoi exclaimed. "U-uun! Sir, did you write that song?"
"S-so pretty, yet somewhat...frightening," Yukiho muttered. Makoto gripped her hand and took a step back. Haruka gulped, but she forced herself to smile.
The person turned around. They then saw the dark blue mask covering his face. The only holes were at the eyes. But there were no eyes. Only gaping holes dripping thick, gooey liquid.
He stood up slowly, faced right at them. The idols noticed a sharp knife strapped to his belt. The knife was stained red and had pulsating lumps falling off of it.
Yayoi screamed. Hibiki gasped. Haruka yelped.
"Can you help us?" Azusa called. "We just want to get out..."
"It's true!" Ami and Mami said in unison. Haruka nodded, afraid.
The being turned its body to face them entirely. He stepped back. "...Maryyyy..." he breathed. Then he turned away and stalked out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him.
"...wait, what?" Haruka sounded confused. "Well, whatever. Nothing like soothing piano music, right? Someone should play!"
Iori took a seat at the piano and played a little ditty, then left and let Yukiho and Azusa take a seat. The two began to play, somehow weaving together an intricate duet although neither knew what the other was doing.
Makoto, Iori, Ritsuko, and Hibiki stayed close by in protection. Eventually, they finished playing and began to chat. The group then migrated downstairs to try the door. It still wouldn't open.
"No use," Jeff's familiar voice notified. "Only Mary opens it. And I feel murderous now...you, glasses-m*lf. I'll start with you...!" He laughed sadistically and clutched his knife harder.
Ritsuko stood, frozen to the spot, seeing Jeff come closer.
"Leave her alone!" Haruka pleaded. "Please, we just want to go home!"
Jeff laughed. "Would you rather I take her away so that you don't see?" He grabbed her by the hair and began to drag her away.
Haruka screamed. "N-NO! RITSUKO-SAN!"
Ritsuko screamed even louder, clutching at the hand that held her hair. "Let go...!"
"Nope, I'd rather kill her." Jeff dragged Ritsuko to the library, closed the door, and began to rip her to shreds, laughing heinously.
Haruka heard loud, bloodcurdling screams erupting from the room. Horrified, she could only listen, frozen in place.
Hibiki and Makoto began to kick the door in a desperate attempt to knock it down. It didn't work. "WE WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
"Find Mary," a voice heard from before by the masked man breathed. Jeff was laughing horrendously, joyous squeals emitting from his fake smile. Ritsuko's screaming finally stopped, and blood oozed from underneath the door.
"Who's Mary?! How do we find 'er?!" Hibiki demanded. "Tell us!?"
"Please," Haruka added.
The masked man, Jack's, face turned toward them. "Summon Maryyyy," he hissed, stumbling past slowly. Jeff opened the door, smile even wider, eyes even rounder. The girls caught sight of what had become of Ritsuko; her eyes were still whole, but they were popped out of the sockets, hanging by threads. Her eyelids had been burned off and the flame singed parts of her hair as well. The blood dripped down her chin and stained her grey blazer. Her leg had been torn up, scars running up and down her legs, all the way down to the bone. Important organs were scattered across the room, some shredded to bits, some still pulsating.
Jack wandered in to the room after Jeff, picked up some of the organs, and walked away.
Haruka whimpered. Most of the others screamed. The rest looked away, disgusted, or cried.
"I heard of this game called 'Bloody Mary'," Azusa announced. "Maybe that's what they mean."
Haruka nodded slowly. "Let's try it." Smiling, Azusa walked into a room and lit a small candle.
"It's like this." She then turned off all the lights and went to stand in front of a tall mirror. "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary..."
A hideous corpse appeared in the mirror, with scaly flesh peeling off and dyed gray skin. It had mangled clothing, its hair was ripped off, its lips were crumbling to oblivion, and its eyes were molded and yellow. Out of the mirror came a small girl with curly brown hair, black eyes dripping with blood, and dark red lips fixed into a scowl. She held a knife in her delicate hands.
"Bloody Mary has decided your fate," she hissed. She lunged at Azusa and stabbed the knife into her side, harshly tearing it out, streams of scarlet blood following.
Azusa barely had time for a small gasp before it became a horrible scream. She fell to the ground, clutching at her wound. The idols outside could only listen to Azusa's harsh cries until they died down at last, signifying that she had died. Haruka began to cry, as Iori, Ami, and Yukiho bawled into their sleeves.
"A-Azusa-san!"
The door slid open. The small girl stood there, eyes blank. She eyed the idols, then dropped the knife from her chest to her hips.
"Mary..." Haruka whispered. "M-Mary-san, how do we get out of this place?"
"Please help us!" Yayoi added.
Mary's eyes turned cruel and she hissed at them, barring fangs that had not been noticed before. Her pupils turned red and her face wrinkled, showing that she had been alive for many centuries. She whipped the knife in their direction, lodging it in Ami's left breast.
Ami screeched and stumbled back, crashing into Mami, who caught her.
"Ami!" Mami gasped. "May-may, that was mean! What'd Ami do to you?!"
"We just want to go home!" Haruka cried. "Just let us go!"
Mary squealed. "NOOO!" She grabbed multiple knifes and began wildly flinging them in any direction, successfully stabbing a few idols.
Haruka let out a yell as a knife slammed into her shoulder and another in her brain. She gasped and looked around, trying to see what had happened.
Ami and Mami were lying on the ground next to each other, knives jutting out of their bodies. Yukiho was tending to an injured Makoto, who had shielded her best friend from the onslaught but been successfully stabbed in the right arm, left leg, and just below her ribcage. Yayoi was sitting against the wall, a knife lodged in her chest, Iori sobbing beside her. The sight of blood and the sounds of screams were the last things Haruka experienced before death came; those, and a single thought:
Here I come, Chihaya-chan...
Mary giggled to the remaining idols. "Until you meet all my friends, you're not done yet. Lets see...you've met Jeff, Jack, Slendy, Smiles, Zalgo, Nightstalker...you still have Rake, Larry, and Pacemaker. Meet those three, and you're free to go. Trust me though...they're very reclusive. And very murderous." She laughed again and lolled back into her room.
Hibiki was left standing, gaping at the assembled idols. "Meet the others..." she muttered. "Is...ev'ryone a'ight?"
"I'm alive," Makoto croaked. "Barely."
"Don't say that!" Yukiho sobbed.
"Yayoi is alive too," Iori announced. "B-but the twins and Haruka..."
Hibiki nodded slowly. "I'll carry Makoto since she's heavier. Um...Iori an' Yukiho, y'all handle Yayoi. M'kay?" Iori and Yukiho nodded and helped Yayoi up while Hibiki went to Makoto. The final four idols wandered around, searching desperately for the last three "friends".
There was a shrill screech coming from outside, somewhat like a diseased crow. Then there was a tearing sound, like someone was dragging claws through terrain.
Hibiki sighed. "Let's go," she ordered.
"Y-you want us to go t-towards the scary noise...?" Yukiho gasped. "Hibiki-chan, Makoto-chan is hurt! We can't go anywhere until she's better!"
"You expect me to get better?" Makoto chuckled hoarsely, a weak smile on her face. "I'm just...lucky I made it this far."
"Don't you dare say that!"
"And as for Yayoi..." Iori trailed off. "I don't think either of them will survive. Maybe we should just leave them here and go off alone."
"I'm not leaving Makoto-chan," Yukiho said firmly. "If you leave her behind, I'm staying with her."
Hibiki sighed. "I don't wanna leave anyone behind," she muttered. "I won't. That means all o' us are goin' out to that monster, an' if one o' us dies, well...we were all probably gonna die anyhow. Now let's go." Iori nodded and bent to help Yayoi to her feet. Yukiho whimpered and quickly went to help Iori carry her. Together, the remaining four shuffled outside.
"A'ight, whoever ya are..." Hibiki mumbled under her breath. "An old friend is missin' ya."
The shrill voice squealed again, and there was a rustle in the distance. Empty white eyes glowed behind a bush, watching them, unnoticed.
Yayoi groaned in pain. Iori gazed at her sadly.
"Where is that noise coming from?" she muttered.
"Somewhere," Hibiki answered without delay. The group paused by a bush to rest. "Let's jus' sit here for a moment. How's everyone doin'?"
Yayoi groaned again in response.
Iori whimpered.
Makoto coughed violently.
Yukiho started to cry.
"...so everyone's horrible. Good, I'm not the only one."
Iori tipped her head back and looked behind her. There, sitting on the other side of the bush, facing away from them, was a creature resembling a naked man baby. A very skinny one, all skin and bone. Its hands were more claws than hands. Humongous claws, skinny and sharp at the front and thick, about the size of a person's neck, in the back. Its head turned quickly and glowing white holes stared at Iori.
Iori gasped and scrambled backwards. "Ew! What IS that?!" she scoffed, disgusted. "It's staring at me! Make it leave me alone!"
Hibiki crouched protectively in front of Makoto and Yayoi. "You leave 'em alone!" she ordered. Yukiho and Iori cowered together, staring at the creature. "Go away! I mean it!"
"The Rake..." Yukiho whispered. "...Rake-sama! Bloody Mary-san is looking for you! Please, go to her so we can go home...!"
The creature squealed at them, then scampered off like an ape. It ripped a door off of its hinges and stumbled through, screeching louder once inside. The idols tried to escape to outside, but they were in some sort of glass dome.
Iori and Yukiho sighed in relief. "Well, at least we found it," Iori muttered. "I assume it's going to Mary. Well...now what?"
Hibiki sighed as well, but hers was in exasperation. "We rot in this area?" she suggested, only half kidding. "...godd*mmit, Mary! We just wanna go home!"
Yukiho and Yayoi whimpered. Makoto coughed again and moaned. Iori stared at the ground.
Angrily, Hibiki began to beat the glass with her fists. "LET US OUT!" she screeched. "LET US OUTTA HERE, PLEASE!"
There was a faint yet desperate male scream erupting from inside. As abruptly as it started, it ended. The idols shivered.
After a period of anger and silence, Hibiki sighed and lifted Makoto again. She waited for the others to get Yayoi before heading inside and towards the scream.
Passing door by door, the sound grew nearer until the sight came into view.
In a high-tech experimental room was a boy who hung from the roof by thin wire. His feet touched the floor just enough to support his body. He had black hair and pale skin, blue eyes barely open, as well as lips barely parted. His body had been demolished; clothes ripped and showing thin scars bleeding slowly, needles pierced through or in his skin. His pupils faced the floor and his arms laid limp by his side. Hibiki became visible in the doorway and his head shot up to face her.
Hibiki practically dropped Makoto and ran to the boy. She immediately began to help him down off the wall. "Are ya OK?! Who did this to ya?!" she demanded. Makoto whimpered.
Hibiki finished helping the boy and then ran back to help her.
The boy gasped and stumbled backward. He hit himself on the wall, stumbling more, and then falling to the ground, clutching at his left shoulder. He looked at the girls with desperation, fear and blood-loss swirling in his eyes. "Larry...paper cuts...gun..." His eyes darted around the room, obviously looking for something. Blood dripped down to the floor.
Hibiki pulled off Makoto and Yayoi's shirts and tossed them to the boy. Both girls squeaked. Hibiki left Yayoi to Iori and Makoto to Yukiho, then ran to the boy.
"Lay down," she ordered him, lowering him onto the ground. She then used the shirts to slow down his blood flow. "Name's Ganaha Hibiki. Who's Larry?"
"One of Mary's friends," Iori called.
Hibiki snapped her fingers. "That's right! Say, ya remember which way he went, yo?"
"Still here," he gasped. He cried out in pain when Hibiki pressed harder. "I'm...Sora. Larry...captured...me...'experiment', he said...then he...cut me...'you failed', he said...then...he shot me." He looked at his left shoulder. A deep scarlet hole was filling with blood.
Hibiki frowned and ran to Makoto, then took her pants and returned to Sora. Makoto let out a loud whine. "Ah, shaddap!" Hibiki snapped. She held the pants against Sora's shoulder. "So he's in the room?! Dangit...I don't think we can carry all three o' ya..."
"Leave me behind," Makoto croaked. "I'll die anyways."
"I said shaddap, fool! No one's gettin' left behind!" Hibiki lashed. "Sora, can ya walk?"
Sora sat up slowly and carefully, pushed himself up on an arm and stood up, wavering. "I don't want women's clothing...sprawled out...on my body, thank you," he said, weakly tossing the clothing back to the respective person. He shoved off the wall, stumbled, and grabbed the edge of a chrome table shelving chemicals and two sheets of thin construction paper stained with his blood.
"Well, excuse me for tryin' to save your life," Hibiki sniffed. She went to go re-dress the idols, then figured the clothes were too bloodstained by now and threw them away. Yayoi and Makoto whined loudly.
Sighing, Hibiki again lifted Makoto while Iori and Yukiho supported Yayoi. Hibiki took the lead, then waited for Sora in case he needed help.
Sora stumbled along, tripping every so often and latching onto arms or objects for support. "Shouldn't we...wait...for Larry? You said...you need to bring...Mary's friends to her...right?" He grew light headed and collapsed into the nearest body; Yukiho.
Yukiho made a frantic, elongated squeak and tumbled to the floor, dropping Yayoi in the process, who leaned heavily on Iori.
"MAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Yukiho screeched. "N-N-NOOOO! I DON'T WANT TO BE VIOLATEEEEEED!"
"Atta girl! Attract Larry!" Hibiki laughed, while Makoto trembled with fury in her arms.
Yukiho began to flail. "GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF MAN PLEASE I AM TERRIFIED OF YOU GET OFF!" she wailed.
Sora's eyes weakly blinked open. He noticed Yukiho practically having a heart attack, crawled only inches away, and then collapsed again.
Yukiho hyperventilated, but thankfully didn't pass out. She cowered behind Hibiki. Hibiki sighed and put Makoto down. The tomboy leaned against Yukiho, who whimpered and clung to her. Hibiki helped Sora to his feet.
"Lean on me," she instructed. "Yukiho, ya handle Makoto, an' Iori, ya get Yayoi." Yukiho and Iori nodded dutifully.
Sora sighed. "I'm sorry to cause so...much trouble..." He staggered to Hibiki's side. "Larry...was brutal. I saw...others. Hung by barbed wire...some by their own body parts."
An angered scream erupted from the laboratory room. Everyone's head jerked to the door in alarm. "Larry," Sora breathed. "He noticed. He noticed that I was stolen. Now he's...coming. For you."
Hibiki growled low. "Iori, Yukiho, y'all an' me are in charge o' keepin' Larry away from the others. Others, sit back and recover." She grabbed a wastebasket and wielded it like a club of sorts. "Come at me, bro."
"No," Sora objected. "He's strong. He has a gun. I'm what he wants." He took a breath and stepped in front. "Hey Larry!" he called as loudly as he could. "Come and get me!"
"Are ya nuts?!" Hibiki cried. "We'll just send 'im off to Mary! That Broom went without a fight!"
"The Rake," Yukiho corrected.
"Ah, shaddap!"
"Larry's not a broom, he's a person. He's vicious and demented. He's cruel and insane, and you expect a man to let three weakened girls fend him off?! That's offensive!"
Hibiki grunted. "Fine!" she snapped. "Ya try it. But if ya die, I ain't gonna care!"
Yukiho squeaked.
A sonar emanated from the lab room. There was a crash of lightning and the lights fluttered off. Sora gasped. The lights flickered back on, and a tall and slender young man in a lab coat and glasses stood behind Sora with a knife pressed against his throat.
"W-what do you want...Larry...?!"
Larry grinned. "You failed, my experiment. Now you must die, that's all."
Sora gritted his teeth. "You're insane!" he exclaimed.
"Am I?" Larry said, pressing the knife deeper. A ball of blood rolled down Sora's chest.
"I spoke...with Mary. She wants to see you. Said she had another...victim...for you...!"
Larry drew the knife away and dropped it on the floor. "Mary, Mary, Mary...never ceases to excite." He laughed and released Sora, who staggered and held a hand to his bleeding neck.
Hibiki ran to Sora. "Ya a'ight?" she gasped. "Makoto! I need your panties!"
"N-no way!" Makoto whimpered.
Hibiki muttered something under her breath and helped Sora stand.
"C'mon, we gotta go! Only one more an' we can go home an' take care o' Sora, Yayoi, an' Makoto!"
"Let's get some sleep," Iori suggested. "I'm exhausted!" Hibiki nodded. She began to lead the group towards the bedroom so they could sleep.
visited Sora this time. Same as before, but unexpected. The idols awoke to Sora's traumatized voice coming from a corner.
"Smile, he said...spread the word, he said...tell everyone, he said..."
"It's OK," Iori soothed. "It did that to us too. Calm down, it'll go away now that you've told someone. Sleep." She crawled back into bed next to Yayoi, who was still asleep along with Makoto. Yukiho whimpered and joined her best friend. Hibiki stayed up to keep watch.
Iori blinked open foreign eyes, eyes that were glazed over and evil. Hibiki had since fallen asleep, leaving Iori the only one awake. She (or rather, whatever was using her body) wandered over to Hibiki and took from her the knife Hibiki had kept after Mary's attack, then walked over to the sleeping Yayoi. A devious smile stretched across "her" face, and she set to work.
When the real Iori awoke in her own body, she was standing. That alone should have unnerved her, but it wasn't until she looked down at the carved up and mutilated body of Yayoi, and the bloody knife in her hand, that she knew something was horribly wrong. She screamed in horror.
Everyone woke with a start. Sora gasped and stood up. He slowly walked to Iori and put a hand on her shoulder. "May I ask what happened...?" He looked at the wall. Written in what looked like Yayoi's blood was a thick note. "Off to Mary," Sora read aloud.
"What happened?!" Iori wailed. "Yayoi...I KILLED YAYOI...!"
"At least we found the last friend! We can go home now!" Hibiki cheered.
"Don't you dare sound so excited!" Iori demanded. She began to sob. Yukiho hugged her close in comfort
Sora sighed and rubbed Iori's back soothingly. "I'm so sorry this happened...you'll see her again though. One day. Let's just...let's go back to Mary. Maybe..." His eyes grew bigger. "Maybe Mary can get them back! I mean, this whole place is supernatural. Maybe she could revive them. Does that sound like a good plan?"
Iori whimpered and nodded. "Alright," she muttered. "L-let's go."
Hibiki took the lead with Sora leaning against her. Yukiho and Iori carried Makoto in turns.
The idols ventured upstairs again and headed straight to a mirror. "Mary," Sora called. "We need to talk."
The small girl stepped out of the shadows with a cheerful smile on her face. She still held her knife. Sora gulped and stood straight.
"These girls brought you all of your friends. Please, Mary...let us go." Mary looked at her knife as she twirled it in her hand.
"I'm surprised any of you made it." She looked straight at Sora. "Especially you, cutie." Sora gritted his teeth and forced a smile to his face. "Traversing alone yet you lived. Congratulations." She clapped slowly. "I'll let you go. And your friends, too."
Iori perked up and smiled.
"If," Mary continued, "you can potentially hurt me." She dropped the knife and spread her arms. Her light pink dress swished in the breeze.
Hibiki wasted no time in charging at Mary with a cry, gripping her returned bloody knife. She swiped at the small girl furiously.
Mary laughed and crouched under Hibiki's legs, crawling away. She jumped up and floated into the air. "What's wrong? I said to hurt me!" She laughed again.
"DIE, B*TCH!" Hibiki screeched, jumping at Mary and throwing the knife at her head.
"She's no fighter," Makoto muttered, "and it's pretty obvious..."
"You are!" Yukiho cried. "Makoto-chan, we need you!"
"Are you kidding?" Makoto broke off with a violent cough. "I can't fight like this!"
Yukiho only whimpered in response.
"Shh," Sora interrupted. "I have a plan." Mary kept laughing and floating around the room. Sora waited until her back was facing the others. He crept behind her and head locked her. "Hibiki! Her legs!"
Hibiki growled and ran at Mary, diving at her and wrapping her arms around Mary's legs.
"Iori, get her head for me!"
Iori skittered up and grabbed her head after him. Sora got in front and grabbed his fist. Mary began to scream. Sora let out a growl through clenched teeth and flung his fist into her face.
Mary's eyes bulged and she smiled. "Good job. That actually hurt a little. Go ahead, take your friends. I don't want them." She closed her eyes and continued to smile.
"Lay her down," Sora instructed. "She'll live. Thankfully, I don't think we'll have anything to do with her anymore."
"Our friends?!" Iori gasped. "Our...Yayoi! YAYOI~!"
Out from the wall came the idols who had died. Iori cried out and ran to Yayoi, embracing her tightly. Hibiki exchanged joyous hugs with Miki and Takane. Makoto and Yukiho hugged Haruka wildly. They all laughed giddily.
Sora stepped back and watched the reunion. "How cute," he whispered.
Yukiho slowly approached Sora and gave him a very small and very tentative hug, complete with a squeak. "...thank you."
Sora smiled and encased her in a real hug. "Just give me a hug. I'm lonely." He squeezed her lightly.
Yukiho squeaked again in alarm. Makoto hobbled over and wrapped her arms tightly around the both of them, leaning against them for support.
"I love you guys," she admitted with a laugh, planting a kiss on Sora and Yukiho's cheeks. Yukiho giggled happily.
Sora quickly retreated and smacked Makoto's arm. "Dude! What was that?! I'm not even blushing, that was so gross!"
He looked at Yukiho and smiled softer. "You're very beautiful, Yukiho. Do you mind if I call you 'Ohime-chan'? You just seem so...regal."
Yukiho squeaked and passed out in alarm. Makoto let out a cry.
"DANGIT, YUKIHO! YOU KILLED HER!"
Sora bent down and scooped Yukiho up. "I did not! I complimented her! How is a compliment so deadly as to kill someone?! There's something wrong with your logic, Makoto!"
"Then why is she DEAD?!" Makoto demanded. She coughed loudly and dropped to the ground. "...I hurt..."
Yukiho suddenly woke up. "That's right...Makoto-chan and Sora-kun are still so hurt and PLEEEASE MAN PUT ME DOWN I AM AFRAID OF YOU PUT ME DOOOOOOWN~"
Sora looked at the newly awoken Yukiho in his arms and lowered her to her feet. "Sorry, Ohime-chan. You passed out, and Makoto accused me of killing you because I complimented you...but she didn't pick you up...so I did." He looked at Makoto. "Well isn't she just charming."
Makoto sniffed loudly and lay down. She coughed again, and this time, small droplets of scarlet blood flew out of her mouth. She moaned and placed a hand on the exposed wound below her ribcage.
"Remember that trip to the hospital we were talking about? Can we do that now? Because I really don't want to come this far just to die from my injuries anyways. ...and, can I please have my clothes back?!"
Sora looked down at her. "I'd give you my shirt, but I have a feeling you'd stare too much. So I won't." He looked at Hibiki. "Didn't you throw their clothes away yesterday?"
Hibiki chuckled. "Yup~" she trilled. She bent down and scooped Makoto from the ground. "C'mon, let's go."
"Thank you, Hibiki," Makoto said gratefully. "Seriously, you've done a lot for me. I really appreciate it."
"Anythin' for ya, bud," Hibiki chirped. "Let's get outta here, y'all!"
They all left through the now-opened main double doors. A figure in a white hoodie was sitting alone outside, facing the fence.
"Jeff," Sora breathed.
Ritsuko looked at Sora. "You met him?" she questioned. Sora nodded.
"He brought me to Larry. Strangled me, if you please." Jeff picked at the grass.
"Yo!" Hibiki shouted at Jeff. "Ya owe us an apology, fool!"
"For what?" Jeff responded without turning. "I spared most of you."
"Ya also killed my best friend, ya son o' a b*tch!" Hibiki cried. "Now apologize!"
Jeff chuckled. He stood up and walked over to Miki. "Hey, b*tch. Remember how you brought up my brother? Well, I'm still pissed." He walked up to Ritsuko next. "Hey, m*lf. Remember how I was bored? Well, I still am." He stood back. "Now you all better listen. If you do as much as step foot here ever again, I'll ruin you exactly how I said I would when we first met. That goes for all of you!"
Hibiki grumbled to herself. Miki smiled warmly, trotted over to Jeff, and slid her arms around him.
"Miki's sorry, Jeff," she said apologetically. "She won't bring him up again." Giggling, she kissed his cheek gently and then skipped back to the others.
Jeff appeared to blush. "I uh...I suppose I could maybe forgive you...but only 'cause...you apologized," he said, looking away and mounting his hands on his hips. "I guess I'm a little bit regretful for...y'know...killing you. But you," he said, looking at Ritsuko. "I'm not apologizing to you."
Miki giggled. "Silly, you're blushing~" she squeaked. "Thanks for forgiving Miki." Ritsuko huffed loudly and put her hands on her hips.
Jeff looked away again and blushed deeper. "It was your fault, Miki, and I killed you because of that, but you apologized. You, on the other hand, glasses m*lf, I killed you 'cause I felt like it. There's nothin' to apologize about on my part. Everyone feels like doing stuff at times. Right?"
The idols stared at him blankly.
"No, no one...no one feels that way," Haruka stated.
Miki giggled. "Miki thinks you must like Miki. All boys like Miki. Even Makoto-kun." Makoto whined.
Jeff gripped the knife tighter. "I do not like you! I killed you, remember?!" He huffed. "And don't any of you just feel like...eating? When you're not hungry, but you just want to eat food! Are you all stupid or something?!"
"Killing isn't eating," Hibiki declared.
"I love eating," Azusa remarked.
"Now that Miki apologized, you love her," Miki decided. The others facepalmed.
Jeff facepalmed as well. "You're so blonde." He paused. "Liu was blonde..." He looked to the ground with sad eyes.
"Actually, Miki is a brunette," Miki admitted. "...Miki's sorry about Liu. You love him, huh?"
"Can I PLEASE go to the hospital?!"
"Shut up Makoto-kun, no one will care if you die."
"I-I'll care..."
"No one cares, Yukiho."
Jeff nodded slowly and grimly. "He was my only sibling. A gang attacked us at a bus stop and...I had to fight for him. That's how I turned out like this. Well, actually, I was doused in bleach and alcohol and set on fire first...but that doesn't matter."
"You're very sweet and brave. That's what Miki thinks. It must have hurt, right? Well, Miki won't let you get hurt like that again. Come with us."
Jeff's eyes flashed dedication. "I won't leave Mary and Jack and Slendy. They accept me. Love me, even..."
"Then you can all come!" Miki squeaked.
"Ami and Mami accept you!" the twins cheered.
"And Miki loves you!" Miki added. "So come with us!"
"MIKI, SHADDAP!" Hibiki screeched.
Jeff's eyes lit up, then faded to sadness. "Can't. I've been in this house for so long. It's been the closest thing to home I've had since I ran away." His eyes lit up again. "Hey, why don't you all stay here?! We've got plenty of room, and we're getting lonely. I PROMISE, we won't kill you...!"
"Miki will stay~!" Miki cheered.
"No ya won't!" Hibiki contradicted.
"But he promised they wouldn't kill us!" Miki whined.
"And ya TRUST him?!" Hibiki shot out. "Nope. Let's go—"
"To a hospital," Makoto cut in. Hibiki nodded.
Jeff sighed. "I knew it. Not even you guys like me. I shouldn't have even offered." He looked at Hibiki with a mixture of depression and wrath coursing through his face. "You guys were cool. You reminded me of some people from my old neighborhood! The only reason I killed those two is because I had to leave them! Sorry for being homesick!" he choked out. He quickly turned away to hide an onslaught of tears.
"...it's not that we don't like you—" Hibiki began, but she was cut off by Makoto again.
"It's that if we don't get me to a hospital REALLY SOON, I really will die." She made a thumbs-up. "But once I recover, we'll come back and visit, all the time."
"I'll take you out to a nice restaurant," Iori offered.
"And Miki can take you to a movie!" Miki added.
"And we can play games!" the twins squealed.
Jeff was still looking away from them. "Taking me in public is the most dumba*s idea there is. Remember my face? Yeah. It's terrifying." He paused and angled his head just enough to see them. "Come back and visit, though. If you don't..." He turned so that his fake smile was facing them, "I just might kill you."
He laughed, and so did Miki, the twins, and a cautious Iori. "Can I come to the hospital with you? I want my face redone."
"Sure, why not?" Makoto laughed. "But we should go before..." She paused to cough violently, scattering more blood, and ended with a loud moan. Hibiki scooped her from the ground.
"C'mon, Jeffrey! Let's go!"
Jeff stopped in his tracks. "Jeffrey," he repeated silently. "My mom called me Jeffrey." He sniffed, then wiped his eyes on his sleeves, realized that what he just did really hurt, and sped up to get to the hospital faster, yelping in pain.
Hibiki chuckled and followed him. The others also followed. When they reached the hospital, the doctors cautiously began work on a crying and terrified Makoto while the plastic surgeons frightenedly worked on Jeff's face.
When everything was done, the idols split up to check on their friends. Miki, Iori, the twins, Ritsuko and Haruka went to visit Jeff. (Sora waited outside since he had developed a grudge against both people) When they entered, Jeff was blinking new eyelids excessively.
"What do you think?" Ritsuko asked. "Are they anything like you remember?"
"You look nice!" Haruka added excitedly.
Jeff looked at them weakly. "My skin is still white. I like that. My face isn't as beautiful...but I can still smile. And I can look at this new face, now. I guess it's not that bad..." His face lit up and he smiled like a normal person, and it was beautiful. "And look! I have a nose now! I haven't been able to smell for 5 years! Or blink. Or stop smiling. But that doesn't matter! And since I haven't blinked in 5 years, I can stare without blinking longer then anyone else!"
Miki trotted up and planted a long kiss on Jeff's new lips. "And now Miki can do that!" she cheered. "Sniff Miki's hair, it smells like a waterfall~"
Ritsuko facepalmed.
Jeff blushed again, but didn't smile. "I still want to kill someone," he muttered. He quickly looked at Miki wide eyed. "Not you, though! You're fine..." He blushed again. "Is it sad that my first kiss is when I'm 18 years old?"
"Go to a prison and kill people on death row," Ritsuko suggested practically.
"Want another kiss?" Miki squeaked. Ritsuko rolled her eyes.
Jeff waved his hands in front of his chest, then dropped them by his sides. "I appreciate it, Miki, really, but I'm sleepy. I'll just rest for now, and when I'm sent off, I'll go on a major killing spree to release stress!"
"Can Ami and Mami go with you, Jeffy-niichan?" Ami begged.
"Yeah, yeah! Mami and Ami can kill people!" Mami laughed.
Ritsuko grabbed them by the ear. "That's enough!" she scolded. "Go ahead and rest."
Jeff closed his eyes and leaned back to the pillow. He dragged the blankets higher. "C-cold," he whimpered, pulling them over his new nose.
Miki crawled in the bed with him and snuggled. "Better~?"
Jeff smiled slightly. "Yeah, it kind of is." He leaned his head against Miki's and drifted off to sleep after mere minutes.
Ritsuko facepalmed again.
"I'm gonna go visit Makoto-chan," Haruka announced. She skipped off. Ritsuko dragged the twins after her. Miki waved goodbye and snuggled some more.
Meanwhile, a still-crying Makoto was being comforted by Yukiho.
"WHY DID I NEED SURGERY I HATE SURGERY IT SCARES ME I WANT TO GO HOME~!"
Yukiho patted her back softly. "It's OK," she soothed. "At least you can recover now..." Makoto sniffled and lay in the bed to sleep.
Hibiki smiled. "Glad that's over. So now we go home, or to the mansion?" she asked.
Sora was standing at the door. "Jeff needs to go back, and I have a feeling he'd kill innocent people if we let him roam. So we'll take him back." He scoffed and looked away. "Although I regret saying that..."
"So back to the mansion we go. Later, though. Makoto's gotta sleep," Hibiki announced.
Epilogue
4 hours, 21 minutes and 38 seconds later:
Miki and Jeff ended up to be best friends before lovers, and Jeff even went out to a fancy restaurant with Iori and a movie with Miki. He played plenty of games with the twins as well. (Most of which involving death)
Sora and Yukiho slowly became good friends, therefore causing her fear of men to perish, and Sora confessed a deep love for her on Hibiki's recommendation, who he also became good friends with.
Makoto eventually recovered from her memory of the surgery and Yayoi became healthy again after multiple transplants and medications and often joined Jeff and the twins for games.
The others living in the mansion began to eagerly welcome all of them to their home on occasions, with the exception of Smiles (formally named by Sora and Jeff) and Zalgo never showing up.
All in all, the group went back to a normal life with new, scary friends.